Today’s
The World Around Us
will be presented
in Amharic and English,
with subtitles
in Amharic, Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
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The fascinating civilization
of Ethiopia evolved
in the earliest known city
of Yeha, which dates
to the 5th century BC.
Located in
a beautiful and serene
agricultural region,
Yeha holds the ruins
of the Great Temple
of the Moon.

Yeha as a capital
played a great role
in the development of
architecture, especially
in terms of temples.
It was an important
historical time
in Ethiopian history,
because
the Axumite Kingdom,
which came to existence
later in the beginning
of the first century AD,
flourished as a kingdom,
because the kings
inherited the culture
of the Da’amot kings.
So there were such
economic relationships.
They inherited the scripts,
Sabaean scripts.
At the same time,
the Axumites raised
obelisks to be used
as grave markers.

So what we understand is
that when the powerful
Kingdom of Axum emerged
as a powerful kingdom,
it did not all of a sudden
come to existence,
but the Axumite Kingdom
inherited a lot of
important historical,
cultural elements from
the pre-Axumite Kingdom,
which was called
the Da’amot.
And Axum is located
at a distance
of about 54 kilometers,
far away from Yeha.
This shows that when
the Da’amot Kingdom
was in existence,
it’s believed that there were
even other settlements,
which were parts
of the Da’amot Kingdom.

For example,
we have a place
which is near to Axum,
located at a distance
of about 15 kilometers,
and it’s believed
that a similar culture
to the culture, which
was flourishing in Yeha,
was even practiced
at around Axum.
This shows that when
the Da’amot Kingdom
was in existence,
the territories of Axum
were included.
That’s why
in the very beginning
in the first century AD,
when the Axumite Kingdom
came into existence,
it took parts of the
Da’amot’s king’s culture
as elements of development,
because as the Axumites
at the same time,
they raised obelisks to be
used as grave markers.

At the same time, they
used the Sabaean scripts.
To some extent later on,
this was derived
from the Sabaean scripts.
That’s why we say still now,
Yeha played a great role
in African history
in general, at the same time
in Ethiopian history.
The town of Yeha is almost
about 2,500 years old
since it was established,
and we have
good evidence, still now
we have the ruin
of the temple,
which is still standing,
which was built
around the beginning
of the 6th century BC.
And the type of culture
developed at Yeha
was a mixture
of two civilizations.

It was African and
Middle Eastern civilization.
Because I mentioned
about the immigrants
who came with the culture
they had from Yemen.
It’s believed
that they inter-married
with the local people.
So that was the way how
the Da’amot Kingdom
was formed.
For this reason, we say
that this civilization
was a mixture
of two civilizations:
a mixture of African and
Middle Eastern civilization.
Especially, the influence
was so strong
from South Arabia
or from Yemen.

But historians believe
that around 150 BC
for unknown reason,
the Da’amot Kingdom
was collapsed.
Beside the ruin
of the temple, which was
for the moon god, which
was called Almouqah,
we have
a Christian monastery.
Because from the beginning
of the 6th century AD,
Christianity was introduced
to the surrounding
by one of the Nine Saints
named Abune Aftse.
He was the one who
preached Christianity
around Yeha and he built
the first monastery.
In the very beginning,
he converted the temple
into a church.
He used the temple
as a church
for about 38 years.
Later on,
he shifted to some meters
from the original temple
and then he built
the first Christian church
or monastery at Yeha
near to the ruin
of the temple.

So these days, the society
we have around Yeha,
predominantly we have
Christian community.
And we have, again,
the monastery dedicated
for the founder
of the monastery
named Abune Aftse.
So we understand
that after Christianity
was introduced,
the transition was made
from non-Christianity
to Christianity.
So historically, Yeha is
an important town.

We have again
some mountain hills
around Yeha.
At the same time,
Yeha is located near
to the Adwa Mountains.
This chain of mountains
are these days considered
to be like a national park.
So, near to
Adwa Mountains,
we have again the hills
around Yeha.
Especially
if we look that structure
which is natural
but it looks like a lion,
this is to show
that especially
in Ethiopian history,
although this is natural,
the lion was
an important animal.
Especially if we take the
Solomonic dynasty kings,
they used to believe
that even they descended
from the Lion of Judah.
So here we have again,
at the important
historical town of Yeha,
we see a structure
which looks like a lion,
but this is not manmade
or artificial,
but it’s natural.

Here we have the ruin
of the temple which was
for the moon god
called Almouqah,
and it’s believed that
this type of architecture
was not very common
in Ethiopia before the
coming of the immigrants
from Yemen.
But it was very common
in Yemen, because
in the southern part
of Arabia,
there was a kingdom,
and within this kingdom
it is believed that
southeastern architecture
was common.
They built even temples
similar with the structure
to the temple
we have nearby
to the ruin of the temple.

It’s about
18.5 meters by 15,
so it’s a type
of rectangular building,
it’s a rectangular building.
At the same time,
if we speak in terms of
the type of stone used,
they used a type of stone
which is called limestone.
And they are interlocked
with each other.
Because when
we see them externally,
they look very smooth.

At the same time,
these people were
good at stonework.
They didn't use mortar,
no mortar
between the stones.
This is because
the stones are interlocked
with each other.
Some of the block of stones,
they measure
about three meters.
One of the biggest stone
is about three meters
and it is almost
about 2,500 years since
this temple was built.
The temple had a corridor
and it had a roof
and a big door.
The door was
about five meters wide.

At the same time,
if we see the interior part
of the temple,
there were some divisions.
But the present-day
temple’s height is
about 11 meters.
So this is
still now standing.
That’s why historians
categorize this building
as the oldest
standing building
in Sub-Saharan Africa.

At the same time,
Yeha was the first town
in Sub-Saharan Africa.
So we say urbanization
in Ethiopian history,
particularly and generally
in Sub-Saharan Africa,
was started at Yeha.
Again, we see
that this stonework
was so advanced
and we understand
that the geology by itself
played a great role
for the culture, because
nearby, near to Yeha,
we have different hills
and mountains.
It’s believed
that they had a quarry
where they brought
these limestone pieces,
so they were transported
from the quarry.

The Ethiopian calendar,
also called
the Ge'ez calendar,
is the principal calendar
used in Ethiopia.
A seven- to eight-year gap
between the Ethiopian
and Gregorian calendars
results from
alternate calculations
in determining the date of
the Annunciation of Jesus.

Yes, we have a difference
of about seven years.
Sometimes we have
additional months.
It’s believed
that until the beginning
of the 6th century AD,
both Ethiopian
Orthodox Church and
the Ethiopian calendar
and the Gregorian calendar
were all the same.
But there was one person
from the Roman Empire
who changed the calendar,
but Ethiopia remained
with the oldest way
of counting the years.
For this reason,
we have a unique calendar
under the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church.
So generally, Ethiopia
has its own calendar
which is very unique,
especially in Africa.
So this year is 2003,
for example, to give you
a good example.
This, for example,
this day is May 1, 2003
but for the westerners,
it is 2011.
Also, it’s the same month,
but we have a different way
of counting the years.
The difference is not only
in terms of the years,
but also even
in terms of the way
how we count the hours.

The Yeha Temple has
a museum where artifacts
of historical significance
are exhibited.

So in this
traditional museum,
we have two different
types of artifacts:
We have
pre-Christian artifacts.
At the same time,
we have artifacts
which are again
post-Christianity, I mean
after the introduction
of Christianity.
So some
of the artifacts are…
We have
this stone structure,
which is believed
to be the design
of the Moon Temple,
which is located
at the compound.

At the same time, here
we have the foot washer.
Again, we have
the scripts, these are
the Sabaean scripts,
and from these scripts
we understand
that the Da’amot kings
or the Da’amot Kingdom
as a kingdom
had a writing system.
So this was historically
an advancement.
It’s believed, again,
the symbol
for the type of religion
which was practiced
at that time
was believed to be
a half-moon and star;
we call it the crescent.

So this was
like an incense burner;
they burned incense
as an… as you know,
as an offering.
Then we can see
some crosses.
Especially
this cross is believed
to be the real hand cross
of the founder
of the monastery.
So the founder
of the monastery
was named Abune Afste,
he was
one of the Nine Saints,
so it’s believed that
this was his hand cross.

We have again
other crosses,
and over there
we have manuscripts,
produced manually.
So the tradition
is still maintained.
Where we go next,
we have two crosses,
wooden crosses,
and it’s believed
that these two crosses
were donated
by King Gebre Meskel.
He was an Axumite king,
ruling in the beginning
of the 6th century AD.
Finally, we have two
metal or copper crosses,
and these crosses
were donated by
Emperor Haile Selassie.

So this is a type
of necklace which
dates back to 900 BC.
So you see,
it is very historical.
So this is
almost 2,900 years;
it’s an important artifact.
They used beads.
It’s a type of necklace
made up of stone beads.
The paintings in general
have a spiritual value.
At the same time,
an illiterate people,
faithful, can learn
the history of the Bible
from the paintings.

Wow! We have just
concluded our tour
of the great Temple
of the Moon of Yeha,
the ancient city of Ethiopia.
May this architectural
symbol continue to be
preserved as a reminder
of the Ethiopians’
magnificent heritage.

Gentle viewers, thank you
for joining us today on
The World Around Us.
Words of Wisdom
is coming up next,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
We wish you
God’s abundant love.